


Her Furry Little Problem

by Stijn1boy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Women of the Otherworld - Kelley Armstrong
Genre: F/M, Female Harry Potter, Harry lives with Sirius, Hedwig (Harry Potter) Lives, Nymphadora Tonks Lives, POV First Person, POV Harry Potter, POV Jeremy Danvers, POV Sirius Black, Post-Hogwarts, Remus Lupin Lives, Sirius Black Lives, Werewolf Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-01-11 18:44:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18429917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stijn1boy/pseuds/Stijn1boy
Summary: Harriet was having a great day when her life was forever changed. What will she do when she finds herself a werewolf unlike any other in the Wizarding World? And what will Sirius and Remus think about it, or her other friends? And why is she a werewolf when she hasn't been bitten? [Rating might be an overreaction because of the books; Fem!Harry; Inspired by Kin; Also posted on Fanfiction.net]





	1. Changes

**Author's Note:**

> Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Hedwig are alive, some for reasons in the story and some because I just like the character too much.
> 
> Harry is turned to Harriet, because it fits better for the story, and fits in with the female protagonists of the Women of the Otherworld series.
> 
> This story is somewhat influenced by Kin, a Bitten and Harry Potter crossover by Sparks94, especially the beginning, but the updates of that story are very slow and I didn't really like where it was going so I thought I'd try it for myself.
> 
> This is my first story, and I don't know how much I'll be able to update this, I just couldn't get it out of my head.
> 
> The story begins during Stolen, but I don't know where I'll take it from there, The wizarding war has ended, Sirius was found innocent after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and Harriet has been living with him since then. I haven't really thought about relationships yet, but I'm thinking about pairing Harriet up with Nick.
> 
> I watched the TV series before I read the books, and I haven't read all of them yet, so if I mix the show and the books sometimes please say so (just don't give spoilers for any of the books after stolen, because I'm currently reading Dime Store Magic).
> 
> English isn't my first language (I'm Dutch), but I'll try to keep spelling and grammatical mistakes to a minimum.
> 
> Lastly, as I'm sure you all know, I am neither J.K. Rowling nor Kelley Armstrong, all the rights belong to them and I don't make any money of this story (I think, like I said it is my first story, but everyone says they don't so I'll just believe them).

* * *

My day had been going great so far, I'd been growing restless lately so Sirius had contacted Remus, asking if he could come over and we went for a walk around London. After the walk, we had dinner at a muggle restaurant (which I paid for, because even after all this time they still didn't understand muggle currency). After we ate, we went back to Grimmauld Place and played a few rounds of exploding snap, after that I went to my room, while Sirius and Remus went out, which they had planned to do tonight anyway.

That's when my day stopped being great. I'd been itchy all day, but I'd been able to ignore it. Now however it grew to unbearable levels, what was worse was that it didn't go away anymore. It was like I had gotten a haircut, but instead of a couple of hairs that got stuck under my clothes, it were a couple thousand of them.

Sadly instead of getting less noticeable, it got worse. A lot worse. I was reading an article about the Death Eater trials that were still going on when the itching stopped, only to turn into pain, not the Ow, I stubbed my toe kind, but real pain. Every muscle, bone and even hair on my body was aching. It was comparable to the cruciatus curse, what was worse however because this felt like it was actually happening to me. What scared me however, wasn't that I was in pain, or that I didn't know why I was in pain. What scared me was that I could see my body was changing too. I had some experience with Polyjuice potion but while that may have been uncomfortable, this was different. First off, I didn't know what was causing the transformation. Secondly, while Polyjuice was uncomfortable, this was actual pain. I don't know when I started screaming, but when I did, I couldn't stop myself. I could see my hand narrowing and my nails lengthening. My fingers were getting shorter and my thumb seemed to be moving back. While I was watching my hands, I could feel the same thing was happening to my feet. As I saw hair started growing from my hands, I felt my legs move under my body lying on the floor, I also felt my feet growing longer. My back seemed to be changing to, and I my eyes suddenly lost their ability to process certain colors. I heard my screaming change to a mix between whining and growling, and I could feel my face was changing. Then it all stopped, just as suddenly as the pain began, it vanished. Leaving me exhausted, confused and terrified. That's when I heard the front door open.

* * *

  **Sirius P.O.V.**

After Remus left I went straight home from the Leaky Cauldron. Harriet's birthday was tomorrow so I wanted to decorate the house as a surprise. It was her first birthday after the war and I wanted to make it extra special, she deserved it after everything she did.

When I came into Grimmauld Place, all seemed normal, I hung my coat on the wall and went into the kitchen for a glass of water when I heard Hedwig screeching in Harriet's room, sounding distressed. As I went up the stairs to see what had upset her, I could hear heavy breathing, almost like panting coming from the room. I could also make out whining and scratching when I reached her door. I opened it to reveal a dark room, only lit by moonlight. While I was looking for the source of the strange sounds, I saw Hedwig staring at the back of the bed, which I noticed was empty. Thinking the sounds were probably what had upset her, I went closer to check it out. As I walked closer I heard the whining again, it sounded like an animal, which was also strange, because since Buckbeak went back to Hagrid, the only animal in the house was Hedwig. I was about to turn on the light, when I saw an enormous black animal laying curled up behind the bed. When it saw me, it let out a long whine and tried to crawl further behind the bed. It seemed to be afraid, but I didn't know whether that was because of me or something else. I called for Harriet to ask if she knew what it was doing here, but I got no answers. When I turned on the lights, I could see it was some type of canine, but I didn't know any dog that got this big, even my animagus form wasn't this large. When I took a good look I saw it wasn't a dog, but a wolf. Most people probably wouldn't notice immediately, especially because it had dark fur, but most people don't turn into dogs either. It also helped that you had to learn the difference between wolves and werewolves for your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.S..

It truly was a gorgeous animal. Then I looked into it's eyes and my heart stopped. Those were Harriet's eyes, I'd be able to recognize them anywhere. They were intelligent and very human eyes. I could also clearly see the fear in them. I didn't understand. The eyes were Harriet's, but she wasn't an animagus I'd have known If she was, it also wouldn't explain why she, because there was no doubt in my mind that this was Harriet, was so clearly terrified.

I knelt down so I was at eye level with her and I tried calling her name, but she either couldn't hear me or she just didn't understand. "Harriet" I tried again, slower this time and now I saw a flash of recognition. She let out another whine and I went over to her, and wrapped my arms around her. I needed to calm her down, then I could figure out what had happened.

* * *

  **Harriet P.O.V.**

When I heard the front door open, I didn't know what to do. I was afraid, and I didn't know what was happening to me, so I let instinct take over and hid. I could hear someone moving around downstairs. It was probably Sirius coming back from his night out with Remus. Since Sirius' was found innocent after the Department of Mysteries, the two of them went out at least once a week. Although Remus had had to back out of it a couple of times after Teddy was born.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Sirius come up the stairs. Still dazed, I crept back a little further, so I was hidden behind the bed. I still didn't know what had happened to me, but I knew I had turned into some type of dog. In my confusion I let out a long whine, which only further scared and confused me. Then I heard door open, I could see the light coming from the hallway, and I heard Sirius walking around. What was he doing? Why did he come to my room, had he heard me? What would he do if he saw me? This last thought nearly made me panic, what would he think of me if he saw me? Would he recognize me? Would he throw me out? The rational part of my brain knew that wouldn't happen, but I couldn't stop the whine coming out of my mind when he noticed me, I also tried to move further back, but there wasn't any room left. For a moment he looked stunned, he was probably wondering what I was doing here. I heard him say something, but I didn't understand what he was saying. Then he turned the lights on.

For a couple of seconds he just looked shocked. Then he started looking me over, probably still trying to figure out why I was here. When he reached my eyes, I saw both recognition and confusion. He knelt down and I heard him say something again, but I still couldn't understand him. He said the same words again, slower this time and I tried focusing on them. "Harriet", I whined to tell him I understood, and to tell him how afraid I was. Then he came over, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me closer, saying things which I couldn't understand, but I knew he was trying to calm me down. That's when I started shaking, relieved that he still loved me, because even tough that rational part of me knew he loved me, a part of me wondered how he could still love me after whatever had happened to me. I felt myself calm down a little and I realized I could smell him, his scent calming me down a lot. He said something different now, I looked at him, and he said it again: "wait here". When he knew I understood he walked out of the room.


	2. A Wizard, Two Werewolves and a Lot of Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, how are you, I was glad to see you liked it. This chapter Harry, Sirius, and Remus will be trying to figure out what happened, among other things. I will be trying to add at least 1500 words each chapter, because I always dislike those short chapters, although I now know that even those take a lot of time. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

** Harriet P.O.V. **

After Sirius left, I sat in my room for a while, still trying to figure out what exactly happened to me. I seemed to have turned into a very big dog, but how? After a while, I grew restless, so I started walking around my room. Now that I had calmed down I realized I was able to hear and smell a lot better, I remembered how Sirius scent had helped calm me down and I noticed I could still smell him, even though I could hear he was walking through the kitchen. Still getting used to walking on all fours, I stumbled over to the mirror so I could take a good look at myself. Once I reached it, I stared at it, realizing how weird it was to see myself as a wolf. I knew I was a wolf because of my narrow body and because my head was too big compared to the rest of my body for me to be a dog.

After I looked in the mirror, I started pacing. I wondered where Sirius was. What was taking so long? What was he even doing? I looked around the room, trying to find something interesting to do, I noticed Hedwig was watching me, so I let out a small whine in greeting. It seemed to calm her down a little, so I started looking for things to do again. I could hear Sirius talking to someone downstairs, but I was too couldn’t understand what they were saying, I walked to my window, my nails clicking against the wooden floor, and I leaned on the windowsill so I was able to stand on my hind legs. Looking down the street, I saw a couple walking on the pavement, probably going home from a night out.

When I climbed down from the window, I finally heard Sirius was walking back through the house, I also noticed another pair of footsteps coming with him. As I heard them coming up the stairs, I lay down, my head on my front paws and waited for them to come in.

* * *

** Sirius P.O.V. **

Once I knew Harriet had calmed down, I told her to wait and went down to the kitchen. I needed help, but I didn't know who I needed. Ron and Hermione were still in Australia, to find Hermione's parents, so I wouldn't be able to reach them. That left me with only a couple of options, I could ask Remus to ask if he ever encountered something like this before. The only other option I could think of was to call Minerva because this seemed to be some kind of transfiguration. She would also be able to ask Albus and Snape (and any of the other previous headmasters, but these two were probably the most helpful). In the end, I decided to ask Remus first, to try to keep this between as few people as possible. We didn't know what had happened yet, and I didn't want the ministry, or even worse, the prophet, to know about this until we knew this couldn't be used against Harri in any way. Even with Voldemort dead and most of the Death Eaters dead or captured, there were still enough people who wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, from the still uncaught Death Eaters to a certain reporter with a habit of ruining lives for a story. My decision made, I walked to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder and called Remus.

Because it was late, I had to wait a little bit before he heard me.

"Sirius, what are you still doing up? Is everything alright?" he asked, sounding worried.

"I'm sorry to wake you up Moony, but I need your help. Could you come through? It's about Harri." He nodded, and after he put on his shoes and told Tonks where he was going, he Flooed* over. I led him to the kitchen table, and my him a cup of tea.

When I sat down, he asked what was going on.

"I don't know." was my answer

"You don't know? What do you mean you don't know? I'm guessing you have a reason for calling me at one in the morning."

"I do, I just don't know what's happened. I need your help, both to figure that out, and to try and fix it." I sighed. How do you explain that your goddaughter turned into a wolf, without any clear reason? Even to a wizard that sounds strange. We were silent for a couple of minutes. I heard Harriet walking around in her room, Remus seemed to hear it too.

You said it was about Harri, is she okay? Did something happen while we were away?"

I thought about it for a couple of seconds, decided I really had no way to explain this, at least not without sounding like a lunatic, and told him to follow me.

When we reached her door, I turned around and told Remus to stay calm and move slowly. He seemed to think it was a strange request, which it was, but he just nodded. I turned back and slowly opened the door.

She was lying on the floor, in the middle of the room, staring at us. I turned to see Remus face change expressions fast. First confusion, then recognition, only to go back to confusion. He looked at me, only to look back to Harri, as if to make sure of what he had seen. Then he looked out of the window, even though he knew full well that there was no full moon that night, nor did Harriet look like a werewolf. "I see why you said you didn't know what happened." I chuckled. "Yeah, it's not that easy to explain, especially because I arrived when she already looked like this." "She's been restless lately, right? Has she eaten more than usual too?" "Yes, now you mention it, I thought it was because she was on the run for the last year, but I guess that may not have been the reason after all." He thought about this for a little while, keeping his eyes on Harri. After about a minute he spoke again. "Do you remember that I went to America for a year after our N.E.W.T.s?" I nodded. "Albus had told me about a special group of werewolves, who could change at will and kept a reasonable amount of control when they were changed. He helped me contact them and I went there to try and help control my own changes. Sadly, it didn't work, but this seems to be a lot like that." "So you're telling me that there is a different type of werewolf in America, that nobody knows about?" "Yes, that's about it." "But how does that explain why this happened to Harri?" "That's something I don't have an answer for."

We stood in silence for a moment, when Harriet let out a sad whine. She seemed to want something, thankfully, Moony seemed to understand what she wanted.

"Harri?" He asked, talking slow and pronouncing every word clearly. "Do you need to go outside?"She nodded her head and Remus turned to me. "She needs someone to go with her, to make sure she doesn't do anything she'll regret."

I thought about this for a moment, before answering. "I thought you said these wolves could control themselves."

"They can, but they need to learn to do so, right now, she might not be able to control themselves, which could mean she gets into a situation we don't want her to be in."

I let this sink in. "I'll go with her, can you try to find out more about these other werewolves while we're gone? I'd like to keep this between us for now, but we'll ask Albus in the morning if we have to, he seems to know quite a bit about them." Remus nodded and left the room, probably to start his research, though I wouldn't blame him if he needed a drink after this. I could use one too after everything that has happened tonight.

I told Harriet what we were going to do, shifted into my animagus form and let her follow me out of the room.

* * *

** Harriet P.O.V. **

When Sirius came in, it took me a couple of seconds to identify Remus, who was standing next to him. After Remus looked back and forth between us. They started talking, but it went to fast for me to understand. I started growing restless again, which Remus seemed to notice. After he asked me if I needed to go out, they talked some more before Remus left the room.

Sirius explained to me what was going to happen now. First, the two of us would go outside so I could blow off some steam. Sirius was going with me in his animagus form, to make sure nothing bad would happen. After that, the three of us would try and figure out what had happened, and what our next steps would be.

After Sirius changed, he went out of the door and I followed him. Once we got downstairs, he went to the front door, where Remus was waiting. Remus said something to Sirius, then he opened the door and we went outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I don't know if I can use this as a verb, but I think you know what I meant. If anyone does know, please let me know so I can use it the correct way in the future.  
> This chapter was very focused on Sirius, I’ll try to spend more time with Harri in the next one.  
> Last time, I mentioned I was thinking about pairing Harri with Nick, I still don’t know if this will happen, but if it is, it will not be the main focus of this story and it will be a while before we get there (I don’t even know how I would bring him into the story yet).  
> I would also like to thank everyone who has read this so far, it really does warm my heart to know you enjoy what I’m doing here. I’ve always been insecure, which has held me back a lot, sometimes to the point of not doing things like writing this story. I’m glad I pushed myself past that and wrote this, and it brings me great joy to see that what I’m doing is appreciated by you guys.  
> As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this, I really only have a couple of idea’s floating around in the back of my head, so if you have anything you’d like me to do, just say so, and I’ll consider putting it in. I make most of this stuff up as I’m writing it anyway.


	3. Some Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, as I said in the last chapter, this will feature Harriet a lot more. During the chapter, Harri and Sirius go on a run and Remus tries to find out more about the other werewolves.

* * *

** Harriet P.O.V. **

As soon as I stepped outside, I was bombarded with all kinds of new smells and sounds. I had to fight the urge to start running around to figure out what everything was. Sirius led me to one of the parks that were near Grimmauld Place, though he had to keep watching me almost constantly, to make sure I hadn’t run off to investigate another interesting smell or sound again.

When we eventually made it, the park was nearly deserted. I didn’t know what time it was, but I knew it was long past midnight, so this didn’t surprise me all too much. It was a good thing too really, even if most people would think I was just a dog, I was still large enough to cause quite the panic if someone saw me on my own.

We ran around for a little while, racing around, and trying to catch one another, when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. I picked up a new smell again, but this time it was something some part of my brain recognized as prey. I noticed Sirius had stopped running. He looked behind him and came over to me when he found me. I sniffed again, trying to locate it. Sirius kept a close eye on me, probably trying to figure out what I was doing. I could tell the trail was fresh, so I started following it keeping low and trying not to make a sound while I ran. I could tell Sirius was getting nervous, trying to turn me around, but I didn’t care. Right now, instinct had taken over, making me ignore everything else. Eventually, he gave up, and just started following me. I found my goal in a small clearing, about thirty feet away from the treeline, I saw a rabbit. I could tell Sirius had seen it too because he renewed his efforts to lead me away from my meal. For some reason, I wasn't put off by the thought of killing and eating the animal. Right now, all I could think about was catching that rabbit. I crept closer, giving Sirius a low growl telling him to be quiet. The rabbit stopped eating and I froze on the spot, it waited a little while, listening for another sound, before resuming with its grazing. I got even closer, all the way to the edge of the clearing, then I jumped out of my hiding spot, chasing after my fleeing prey. I felt my adrenaline levels rise, my body filled with the thrill of the hunt.

Some part of my brain was calling for me to stop, but I ignored it, continuing to chase after the rabbit. It didn’t take long for me to catch up with it, and when I got close enough, I pounced. I caught the animal with my jaws, clamping them shut and killing it. My nose was filled with the smell of blood, making my stomach rumble. Once I was sure it was dead, I started looking lay down and started eating. About a minute later, Sirius caught up with me. He saw what I was doing, huffed once, then lay down next to me. I offered him a part of my catch, but he declined, shaking his head, so I went back to eating it myself. Once I was done, I got up and walked over to a pond I could smell nearby. I drank some water, stepped away and lay down next to the water.

I’d almost fallen asleep when I could hear Sirius walking over. Once he reached me, he pushed against my sides with his muzzle, clearly wanting me to get up. I growled at him, telling him to stop, he seemed surprised, but after a couple of seconds, he went back to shoving me. Once I realized he wouldn’t stop, I got up, gave him another growl, before following him out of the park.

Once we got back to Grimmauld Place, Sirius looked around, once he confirmed we were alone, he shifted back and opened the door. When we walked into the kitchen, Remus was still there, standing bent over the table. I couldn’t see what he was looking at, but I was too tired to care. I walked over the fireplace, lay down and I drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

** Sirius P.O.V. **

When we got back, Harriet was clearly exhausted from her hunt, and most likely the stress the rest of the night had brought, so it didn't surprise me at all when she fell asleep almost immediately. It was hard to believe that this was the same person as the one I'd seen rip that rabbit apart. She seemed very peaceful, sleeping in front of the hearth like that.

After I got myself a glass of water, I sat down and looked over the papers Remus seemed to be studying.

"Find anything interesting?" I asked.

He took a couple of seconds to finish reading before he answered, "I've been looking over some old letters between me and the pack."

"Pack?" I guessed he was talking about these other werewolves, but I was trying to get to know more about them too.

"They make the rules in the werewolf world. It's based on a wolf pack, so they've got an Alpha, who makes the decisions, gets to eat first, things like that. They also deal with non-Pack wolves, who they call mutts. They keep everyone in line, deal out punishments if someone doesn't, and they make sure the world doesn't find out werewolves actually do exist."

"Sort of like we've got the Ministry, but less corrupt."

He snorted. "Kingsley is trying his best, but under Fudge, I would've said yes. Though I'd compare them more to the mafia, in the way that it's basically one big family."

"Do you think they'd be able to help us?" I asked him.

He remained silent for some time before answering. "I don't know, it depends on what they'd need to do. They might help her control it, but most of the time they just look out for themselves. If it doesn't endanger the well-being of the pack, there's a reasonable chance that they'll help her. They don't trust easily. Not that surprising when there's always someone out there who wants your head."

I nodded, "Could you contact them? They probably have the answers to many questions we have."

"I could try, but I can't make any promises." I thought about this for a little while, before asking what they knew about him. "What do you mean? General knowledge or specifics?"

"Both, but more importantly, what do they know about us?"

"If you're asking if they know about magic, then the answer is no, Dumbledore told me not to tell them about that unless absolutely necessary. While I'd trust most people in the pack with my life, the same can't be said for everyone. They did know there was something different about me, aside from the different type of werewolf thing, but after a while, they stopped asking about it."

We hadn't realized it, but while we were talking, Harri had started changing back. It seems this happened on its own so we wouldn't have to worry about her being stuck as a wolf. That's something at least. When it was over, I picked her up and brought her to her room and lay her in her bed.

Once I was back in the kitchen, Remus and I talked some more, before we decided to call it a night and come back to it the next day. I showed him out, after I closed the door, I went to my room, thinking about the events of the day, and any clues as to what had happened that could have caused this in the months since the Battle of Hogwarts. Remus had explained to me that there two ways to become one of these other werewolves, one was to be bitten, like with the werewolves of the magical world, but it was also a hereditary trait among males, meaning that the son of a werewolf would inherit the gene from its father.

The problem with this, however, was that according to Moony, bitten werewolves are extremely rare, both because of shock and the rarity of a werewolf biting a human without killing them. Another problem was that werewolf bites were very noticeable, the saliva infects the wound, making it swell to great proportions. Furthermore, the body shuts down after being bitten. Focusing all its effort on staying alive. None of this was the case with Harriet, even if she had miraculously been able to hide the wound from us, the three of us had been together for the entirety of the last day, and according to Remus the body can take days to heal from a werewolf bite, making it impossible to have happened after Remus and I left.

This left us with only one other option, Harri was a hereditary werewolf, it could be that her magic caused the gene to mutate, so it didn't matter that she was female. Sadly, even this logic was flawed, James was not a werewolf. Even if he'd been the best liar in the world, he would never have been able to hide it from Remus. He would have been able to smell it on him, or at least his parents since he hadn't noticed anything about Harri until tonight either, the same thing applied to Lily. This, in turn, created a bunch of new problems, if Harri was a hereditary werewolf, that meant that either James or Lily were also werewolves. Since they weren't that meant James couldn't be her father. It was possible of course, but it only rose more questions. If James wasn't Harri's father, then who was? It wasn't like Lily to sleep around. Did James know Harri wasn't his? If he did, why didn't he tell us? Not that it mattered in the least to me whether James was her father. These questions and dozens more like them flew through my head when I finally fell asleep.

* * *

** Harriet P.O.V. **

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that I was naked, which was odd, because I never sleep naked. I tried to think back to last night. I remembered dinner with Sirius and Remus, we went home, played a couple of games. After that, they went out again. I recalled going to my room and reading a little bit. Then the memories came swarming back. The itchiness turning into agony, me transforming into a wolf, Sirius finding me, Sirius calling Remus. I remembered the feeling of restlessness, the rush I felt when I went outside, running with Sirius. Then I remembered hunting the rabbit. I remembered being unable to stop myself from chasing after it. I suddenly felt very empty inside. This was the first time I ever killed something while not acting out of self-defense. I'd killed before, yes, but only if I didn't have another choice, I was never the one who attacked first. Until now. It might have only been a rabbit, but I still felt horrible. I'd killed something. Not just that, I'd eaten it too. I remembered ripping it apart like it was a present.

My mind was so clouded by these thoughts, that I didn't even notice Sirius coming in until he sat beside me on the bed. He put his arms around me, and I lay my head against his shoulder. I sat like this for a while, trying to pull myself together while he comforted me.

When I calmed down, Sirius told me Kreacher had finished making breakfast, before leaving the room so I could get dressed. I smiled a little thinking about the old house-elf. After we gave him the fake locket and started treating him better, he eventually warmed up to us. He even listened to Sirius now, making him food without trying to poison him. I still remember the look on Padfoot's face when he saw Kreacher leading the Hogwarts house-elves out into battle. Since I'm Sirius heir, he has to listen to me too, but he doesn't mind anymore. After telling him what we did to Slytherin's Locket, I half expected him to hug me, not that I would have minded, but it does show how much he had changed since I first came here.

While I was getting dressed, I noticed I could still hear and smell better than before. My vision might have improved too but I wasn't sure about that. I could still smell Sirius scent in the room. I was also able to hear him ask Kreacher for some milk, and while that may not sound like much to some people, my door was closed and my room was at the second floor, meaning I could hear them through the door, while being two floors above them. I was glad we had silencing spells on the walls, because if we hadn't I'd probably never be able to sleep again.

As I opened my door, I was assaulted by a lot of other smells. I could make out eggs, bacon, some ham, cheese, that milk Sirius asked about, and a bunch of other things. It was a little overwhelming. I also realized I was starving. Luckily, they seemed to have been prepared for that, because when I walked into the kitchen, I could see the table was filled with food. Normally we only have some bread for breakfast, maybe an egg if we had time, but now I could barely see the table.

"We thought you might be hungry," Sirius said, clearly amused by the look on my face.

"You thought right, but this is enough for an army, are we having people over?"

"Probably, but that won't be until later. Remus said you'd probably need to eat more from now on. Something about a faster metabolism. I don't know what he meant by that, but he said to have extra food ready when you woke up."

I nodded, processing this new information. This might become a problem. When a man eats a lot, nobody looks twice. Sadly, women don't have that luxury. I'd need to find ways to eat more without making me stand out. Not that I'd be able to stand out any more in the Wizarding World. For the last couple of months, I got even more attention than usual. I couldn't even walk down Diagon Alley without people openly staring at me. Then I realized what he said.

"What do you mean we're having people over?"

He grinned and picked something up from the floor. "Happy Birthday!"

I blinked, had I really forgotten my own birthday? Not that you could blame after everything that had happened last night. I smiled at Sirius, accepted his gift and opened it. It contained a wand holster, charmed so I was the only one that could access it, it also had a tracking- and anti-theft charm on it, making sure I could never lose it and making me the only one to be able to summon it. I was about to thank Sirius when he offered something else. I opened it couldn't stop a laugh from escaping me. Inside a little box, was a dog collar with a tag that had my name on it.

"I couldn't resist getting that one. Had to search for quite some time this morning before finding a shop that had the right nametag too."

"Thank you, but I hope you don't mind me not wearing it," I said, letting out a chuckle.

Smiling he answered. "You sure you don't want to? I thought it would suit you."

I let out another laugh, "Sorry, but I'm going to pass."

I ate my food in silence, fully focusing on my basic needs first. Probably another side-effect of whatever happened last night. Once I was done, the table was noticeably emptier, guess I really did eat a lot more than before. Kreacher started putting the rest away, while we went to the living room and sat down on the couch.

After a couple of minutes in silence, I decided to just ask my questions. "So, did you and Moony find out what happened last night?"

He took some time before answering. "We did, Remus recognized it from a trip Albus advised him to make after our N.E.W.T.s." I motioned for him to go on, though he seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Dumbledore had heard about a group of special werewolves, who were able to control their changes, and, partly at least, keep in control while they were changed." I nodded, getting an idea of where this was going. "He thought these other werewolves might be able to help Remus to control himself during the full moon, sadly, they weren't able to do that."

I nodded again, thinking about the end of my third year at Hogwarts. "So that's what happened to me, I'm one of these special werewolves?"

"That's what we think right now, yes. Remus is going to try and get into contact with them again, see if they would be willing to help you control the wolf."

I thought about this for a moment. It made sense that Remus would try to contact the werewolves. like Sirius said, they were the people that were the most likely to be able to help me. "What do you know about them?" If they were going to help me, I might as well learn as much as I could beforehand.

"Remus told me a little bit about them, but I only learned about them last night myself, so there might be things that you'll have to ask him about. Anything specific that you'd like to know?"

"How is it that I'm a werewolf? I haven't been bitten by any wolves or dogs as far as I know. Or does this type of lycanthropy not work like that?"

I could see in his eyes that I wasn't going to like the answer to my question. "We're not sure. There are two ways to become this kind of werewolf. One is to be bitten, the other is to pass the gene along from father to son." He must have seen the confusion in my eyes because he rushed to explain further. "As I said, we don't know anything for certain, but since you haven't been bitten, the only explanation that we have is that somehow, you inherited the gene. Maybe because of your magic, maybe some other reason, we're not sure about that. Most of this is pure speculation."

"But how can I have inherited the gene from my dad, he wasn't a werewolf, right?"

"No, James wasn't a werewolf, we'd have known about it if he was, Remus would have known at the very least. The same thing goes for your mother."

I felt like my insides turned to jelly at that statement. I knew what this meant. If I inherited the gene, but neither of my parents was a werewolf, that could only mean one thing. James was not my real father. For obvious reasons, we'd have known if Lily wasn't my mother. If neither she nor James carried the werewolf gene, that meant that I got it from another person, that person being my real father. I could feel my world falling apart at that thought. James Potter wasn't my father. Had he known? What if he hadn't? Had my mother cheated, or was something else going on? I could faintly feel Sirius pulling me to him, giving me a hug to try and comfort me. At least I wouldn't have to worry about losing him because of this? What about Remus? Or my friends? What would they think about this? I could hear Sirius say something, but I didn't register what it was. After some time, I got up, walked to my room and lay on my bed. I just wanted to be alone right now.

* * *

**S** **irius P.O.V. **

After Harriet left, I sat on my own for a while. I wanted to go to her, but she needed some time to process everything I told her. I went back into the kitchen to read some of the letters Remus had left behind. Remus told me that the man that had helped him the most was called Jeremy Danvers. He hadn't told me much about him, except that he was a very patient man, with exceptional self-control. He was also the person that Remus had been in contact with before he left. While reading, I learned that the place Remus went to was called Stonehaven, somewhere in the state of New York.

Apparently, Jeremy had an adopted son, Clayton, who was a year younger than Moony and I. According to the letters, Jeremy had adopted Clayton after his father, Malcolm, told the rest of the Pack he had seen a child werewolf, alone in a swamp. When he later went back to the swamp, the child was still alive, after this, Jeremy retrieved Clay and tried to domesticate him. Apparently, Clayton had to adapt to survive on his own, So he was more driven by instinct than most werewolves.

After about an hour, I went to Harri's room. I found her, sitting on her bed, looking at the photo album Hagrid gave her at the end of her first year. I went over to her, and she closed the book to look at me.

"Are you alright?" she nodded but remained silent. "You know this changes nothing for me, right? I still love you, it doesn't matter to me if James was your father or not. Hell, if it came out Snape was your dad, the only thing I'd be feeling would be relief that you didn't inherit his huge nose and sleazy hair." This brought out a small smile. "And you shouldn't worry about your friends either, they love you, not your parents." This seemed to make her relax a little.

"I guess I'm just thrown off by the suddenness of it all. I mean, first, I find out I'm a werewolf, then I learn about a whole other type of werewolves somewhere out there. And to top it all off, I learn my dad isn't who I thought he was."

"We'll work through this, we always have. As I said, Remus is trying to contact them, and we're all here for you." Something seemed to still be upsetting her. "And if you're still worried about it, Lily wasn't someone to sleep around, so I'd guess James knew. Maybe your parents even asked him for help, using him as a front to help protect you." Finally, I could see her worry's washing away. "Come, the other's will be arriving soon."

"What am I supposed to tell them?"

"Nothing for now. I'd like to keep this between the three of us for the moment. At least until we know more."

* * *

** Harriet P.O.V. **

The party was great. Most people came, though sadly, Ron and Hermione were still in Australia. They did send an owl with some presents though. I received a lot of different things, including owls from people thanking me for ending the war. Among the gifts were an advanced DADA book from Remus and Tonks, a drawing from Teddy, some candy and a bracelet from the Weasleys, a new broom kit from Ron, a rucksack with the same enchantments that she had on her own bag from Hermione, and some mittens from Hagrid which he had knitted himself. Dudley even sent me a card, asking how I was doing. After Sirius was able to clear his name at the end of my fifth year, we went back to the Dursleys to retrieve some things that Dumbledore gave them when he left me with them. Dudley had recognized what I did the previous summer and thanked me, he also apologized for what he did to me the years before.

After everyone else left, Remus, Sirius and I went back to the living room and discussed what our next steps would be.

"I sent a letter to them this morning, asking if they could help us with a problem. Nothing specific, I just told them that a couple of friends had a problem and I thought they might be able to help." Sirius and I both nodded and he told us he would help us to the best of his abilities, at least until they responded. "I don't know everything of course, and I don't have any experience with this myself, but there was one boy, Nicholas, who went through his first changes while I was there. I could try to help you, but like I said. I don't have any experience in this matter. I'd just be repeating what they told him."

"It's more than we have right now, and we need to start this as soon as possible. She needs to be able to control this. Is there anything else you can tell us about the Pack, or the werewolves in general?" Sirius asked.

Remus hesitated for a moment, before answering Padfoot. "Do you remember that I told you it was rare for someone to survive being bitten?" We both nodded again. "Well because of that, combined with the gene only passing from father to son, until now at least, female werewolves are rare. While I was there, there were no known female werewolves." He was looking at me now.

"They're going to come after me." This was a statement, not a question.

Remus nodded, "If word gets out, there is a high likelihood some of them will try to get to you. Not that we'll just let them take you of course. We won't give you up without a fight."

"Is there anything we can do to make it harder for them to find her?" Moony thought about this for a moment. "Not really, the problem is that they'll be able to smell what she is. The only thing we can do is to make sure you're never alone, and you should try to stick to public spaces. They're less likely to do anything there. Until we know more, the best we can do is to stay alert. It is important, however, that you start using unscented soap and shampoo, otherwise all you will be all you'll be able to smell."

After he said this, we thanked Remus, after which he went home.

"So, I basically have a bounty on my head, nothing I'm not used to, right?" I said when we were back in the living room.

Sirius chuckled. "No, but Moony is right, you need to be alert. It's a pity you don't know what a werewolf smells like, then you would have been able to know if one was around."

"Isn't it worrying that we're talking about scents and a Pack the same way we'd talk about the weather. Yesterday, if someone told me half of the stuff I learned today, I'd have checked them into St. Mungo's. Now we're discussing it like it's the most ordinary thing in the world."

Sirius nodded, "You get used to it. I mean, if wizards, dragons, and goblins exist, why can't there be a different type of werewolf too?"

"True I guess, I mean, if I had to choose what's more believable, people who transform into humanoid wolves every full moon, or people who transform into actual wolves every once in a while, I don't know which one would be more believable, especially from a muggle standpoint."

Sirius smiled, "I'm glad to see you still had a good day, even after what happened last night."

I gave him a small smile before answering, "There's nothing we can do about it, just move on, so that's what I'm going to do."

We talked some more after this, before going to bed. Remus would come here again tomorrow so we could start training my control.

* * *

The next morning, we had a large breakfast again, and Sirius told me a little more about the werewolves.

"Remus said you'll need to change at least once a week, but you can learn to initiate the Change yourself with training." I nodded, too busy with filling my stomach to answer. "He also said that you'd be a lot stronger, so you should try not to hit people, at least until you know how to control that strength."

I sighed, another thing I'd need to learn. Super strength did sound kind of useful though. I was starting to see the benefits to this whole werewolf thing. Strength, improved senses. Who knows what else I was going to learn?

Remus arrived at one o'clock, after which we went to the living room. Remus explained more about the Change, things such as when it occurs, and how I should be able to start it.

"So I need to clear my head, but think of something at the same time? That doesn't really make sense."

Remus seemed to think about this before answering, "I think you need to focus on the Change, but not think about anything else while you do so."

"That's more useful advice. And the Change occurs if I'm wounded or afraid as well right?"

He nodded, "Yes and you'll need to do it at least once a week, otherwise it'll force itself upon you, only making it more painful."

I thought for a moment before asking another question. "How do I control myself while I'm changed? Last time I couldn't stop myself from doing certain things, like my body was completely controlled by instinct, with me in the passenger seat."

"I think you'll learn to control your instincts more after some time. The more you change, the faster you'll be able to do this. It could be worse though, bitten werewolves often take months to adapt to their new feelings and needs."

After this, we went to Sirius' mother's old room, which is where Buckbeak used to be kept. We chose this room because it was both big and it was already a mess since no one had cleaned it since Buckbeak went back to Hagrid. Here we tried to get me to start the change, but I was having trouble with this. Remus told me there were three basic steps to changing: Strip, get in position, concentrate on changing. Normally there was the extra step of finding a place with cover, but since we stayed inside the house that wouldn't be necessary for right now.

* * *

 

"It's not working."

Remus sighed, "I can see that. Just like i could see it the first three times you said so."

"Sorry, I just don't know if I'm doing this right. I don't feel anything, I'm just standing here, looking like an idiot."

"Like I said, I don't have any experience with this either, I'm just repeating what they said."

I groaned, "Can't we do something else? My back is starting to hurt from standing like this."

"Alright, what do you want to do?"

I thought about this for a moment. "How about the three of us go for a walk? Go to a forest or something like that, get some fresh air. If you want we can continue this there, at least I'll be able to do what I want there." He remained silent for about half a minute, thinking about my answer, before agreeing.

Once I got dressed, we apparated to a nearby forest. When we got there, I was overwhelmed by all the new smells and sounds I picked up. I could smell the rotten leaves, the trails of animals that had walked past here. I could hear a nearby stream, something that was walking around about a 100 ft. away. Once I recovered from the sensory overload, we started walking around. I could feel my body calm down, feeling at home here. Not that surprising, forests are one of the wolf's natural habitats after all.

We talked some more about the Pack, and werewolves in general, when Remus mentioned werewolves have accelerated healing.

"Really? Nice, I really like all the added benefits that come with this."

"Yeah, Jeremy mentioned it once. Apparently, Clay jumped down an elevator shaft once for a bet, just to prove he could do it. After that Jeremy became the pack doctor. He said broken bones heal in about a week, which is quite fast compared to muggle healing."

"Do I have any other superpowers?" They both chuckled at that.

"Well, you're immune to diseases, for one. You're also more agile than the average normal person, meaning you're about as fast as a human athlete. I'm guessing you've noticed the improved senses?" I nodded, "Then I think that's about it. With the exception of some extra instincts of course."

After about an hour, we went back to Grimmauld Place, I asked Remus if he wanted me to try changing here, but he said we'd go back tomorrow. It was getting late, and he had promised Tonks he'd be home by six. Once Remus had left, Sirius and I went to a nearby Pizzeria, getting one for him and two for me. After we had our food, we walked around London, because I could hardly eat two pizzas by myself in a public place, at least not if I stayed in place. As I said, people tend to think it was strange for a woman to eat a lot, especially because I'm not that tall, only 5'1. While we walked, we kept an eye on our surroundings, I tried to use my nose too, but since I don't know what werewolves smell like, so it wasn't that useful. Once we finished eating, I told Sirius I wanted to go to the cinema with him, because I knew he had never seen a movie before. We went to see X-men, I'd heard of them while growing up, but the Dursleys never bought any comics for Dudley, because they were full of 'abnormal and freakish nonsense'. I told Sirius what I did know about them, just so he knew what to expect. We had a great time watching. Though sometimes the look on Sirius' face was even more amusing than the movie itself.

We stuck to this pattern for the next five days, after which we received the Pack's answer.

* * *

** Jeremy P.O.V. **

After Elena's somewhat troubling call, I packed some clothes, my medical kit, and a toothbrush, and loaded them into the Explorer. After I finished packing, I called Antonio and told him to stay in Europe for an extra week, and to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. I was just about to leave when Clay called.

"Elena left me a message, said we needed to talk. Do you know what it's about?"

I took a moment before answering. I could tell him that Elena had called about the armed men that were after her, but that would almost certainly cause him to immediately drive to Vermont. With most people, that wouldn't be a problem of course, but Clay wasn't like most people. If he came with us to this council, he wasn't going to sit there and wait for answers. He would probably beat it out of them if he had to. So I told him that Elena had called because two women claiming to be witches asked her to come to a council with me. He would probably still want to come, but at least he didn't know Elena was in danger, meaning he would probably wait somewhere in Vermont, instead of storming the council.

I just hung up the phone, when I heard something knock against the window. I looked over to see a barn owl, pecking against the window. Because this wasn't normal owl behaviour, I walked over to the window and opened it. As soon as I did, the owl came in and lifted one of its legs, which had a letter tied to it. I assumed the owl wanted me to take it off, so I did. When I opened the letter, the handwriting seemed vaguely familiar.

I looked at the bottom to see the name 'Remus Lupin'. I remembered Remus from when he came to us, asking us to try and teach him to control his strange form of lycanthropy. In the letter, Remus asked me to help one of his oldest friends. Since he didn't specify what this problem was, I couldn't be certain, but I guessed this friend was a newly turned werewolf. I wrote a reply containing both Elena's and Clayton's phone numbers and told him to call either of those, so he could contact me to give me more information. When I was done, I tied my answer to the owl's leg, and it flew off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a long chapter. A lot longer than I thought it would be when I started writing it at least. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make chapters of this size often, but I’ll try to keep them longer.  
> Next chapter, Remus, Sirius, and Harriet arrive in the US.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. The Pack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took longer than usual, I would have like to upload this on Tuesday, but I’ve had a really bad headache for the last couple of days so I couldn’t get much writing done.  
> I’d like to take a moment to say that I was deeply saddened to hear about the fire in the Notre-Dame on Monday. I may not be religious myself, but I can see this hurts a lot of people. I have been to the cathedral once, and I was very impressed with the building. It’s always sad to see something that’s this old, with so much history and culture inside be destroyed.  
> This chapter, Sirius, Remus, and Harri get in contact with the pack.  
> I don’t know if I handled Jeremy right in the last chapter, so please let me know. After thinking about it for a while, I’ve decided not to pair Harri with Nick. Not in the near future at least. As I said before, I wouldn’t even know how to work him into the story. He’s also nearly 20 years older than Harriet.

* * *

**Harriet P.O.V.**

A week after my first Change, we went back into the forest. I hadn't been able to initiate the Change yet, but I could feel that my body needed to do so.

After we apparated there, Remus and I went to find a thicket where I could change in private. I took off my clothes, got on all fours, and waited. Even after a week of doing this, I still felt like an idiot. I thought about Changing, about running around with Sirius and Remus. It happened to be a full moon today*. Sirius had bought Remus the Wolfsbane Potion, ever since he was exonerated, though there was talk going around that Kingsley was trying to make the Ministry subsidize the potion, in an effort to decrease the stigma surrounding werewolves. The two of them still liked to go together during full moons though, and tonight, I would join them.

I waited for nearly five minutes before I finally felt something happen. My hands started tingling, when I looked down, I could see my nails lengthening, while my fingers became shorter. My hands narrowed and began to sprout fur. My back arched, while my arms and legs adjusted, making them better suited for walking on all fours. I tried my best to suppress the screams of agony, but I couldn't hold them in any longer. I could feel the muzzle that was growing out of my mouth and nose, causing my screams to change into a mix between barks and whines.

When it was done, I lay down, head resting on my front paws, and rested. When I felt like I'd recovered from the Change, I stood and experimented with my improved senses, turning my ears to try and pick up new sounds, and sniffing for any interesting smells. While I was in my wolf form, my senses were even better than if I was human. After I was done testing out my nose and ears, I walked out of the bushes. There I could see Sirius waiting for me, his back turned to me to give me some privacy. I could see the full moon above the horizon now, and I could hear some groans coming from a different set of bushes, meaning Remus was going through his own transformation. It seems I had taken longer to Change than I thought.

When Remus got out of his own thicket, he growled in greeting. There were some differences between Remus and me. For one, I was a lot bigger than him. Remus told me I kept the same mass while Changed, while he was the same size as an actual wolf. Another difference was that he had a shorter snout than a real wolf, while I just looked like an exceptionally large wolf. We both had human eyes though. But Remus eyes would lose their intelligent look when he didn't take his potion.

Once Sirius underwent his own change into his animagus form, we started walking around, though soon I grew restless, so we started running, playing a form of tag while we did.

After we'd run for about a mile, I was in the lead, when I saw something flash by. Immediately, instinct took over, telling me to run chase after it. I could hear Padfoot barking at me, trying to get me to stop, but I ignored him. I was in hunting mode now, running completely on instincts.

I caught my prey after running for about a hundred feet. Pouncing on the rabbi, grabbing it with my jaws and breaking its neck. Once it was dead, I started feeding. Tearing parts of flesh from it, making me taste its blood.

About ten seconds later Sirius and Reus caught up with me. I noticed them looking at each other, but I was too busy with the important task of filling my stomach. Once I was done eating, I looked at them, grinning at them, tongue hanging out of my jaws. I saw Sirius shoot Remus a questioning look, but he just growled, shrugging it off. He knew this was a part of me now, there was nothing they could do to stop it.

When I was in my wolf form, I'd have a need to hunt. He explained this to me a couple of days ago, when I told him about chasing the rabbit. He'd assured me that is was perfectly normal for werewolves to do this. Just like real wolves, we needed to eat, and the easiest way to do this was to hunt.

Once Padfoot and Moony had their little non-verbal discussion, we started running again, playing games while doing so. After a couple of hours, we started going back to Grimmauld Place. Remus wasn't able to change back like Sirius and me, so we'd decided we'd walk back home. Sirius had transported my clothes back before changing, so we didn't have to worry about losing anything. It took us about an hour to get back to 12 Grimmauld Place. Like the week before, Sirius checked our surroundings, before shifting back, and opening the door.

I went up to my room and pushed the door closed. Remus had told me what I needed to do to change back, which was basically the opposite of what I had to do to Change. After about ten minutes, I was able to do it, I'm glad to say that changing from wolf to human is a lot less painful than changing from human to wolf. That isn't to say it doesn't hurt, it just doesn't feel like you're being skinned alive.

Once I was dressed, I walked out of my room and went into the living room. Remus was curled up in front of the fireplace, while Sirius sat on the couch. When I came in, he turned to look at me.

"Did you have a good run?" he asked.

I nodded, "It was great, I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed Remus being there too. We should do it every month."

"Glad you had a good time."

I smiled, "You have a good time too?"

He was about to answer when we heard something knock against one of the windows. We looked up to see an owl trying to get in.

"Bet that's the Pack's answer," Sirius said.

"Should we open it now, or should we wait for Remus." Remus barked in answer, "I guess we'll read it now then."

I opened the letter, excited to see their answer. When I read it, I couldn't hide the disappointment though, I'd hoped to get an answer now, but I guess two phone numbers does mean they were willing to listen.

"What does that mean, it's just a bunch of numbers."

I laughed now, sometimes I forgot how primitive the Wizarding World could be. "They're phone numbers, Sirius, you use them to call someone." I could see on his face he didn't know what a phone was, "A phone is a bit like the Floo Network, just a portable version." Not the best explanation in the world, I know, but It's been a while since I used a phone. At least it seemed to help Sirius understand.

"So they want us to contact them?" I thought about this for a moment.

"They have given us the possibility to do so, that doesn't mean they'll help us. From what Remus said, it sounded like he just told them he had a problem. They might just be trying to find out what that is, at least before making a decision."

"Why give us two numbers though? Does he have multiple phones?"

"Probably not," I thought before saying more, "I guess he just gave us one of his friends number, probably another pack member's."

We both thought in silence for a little while. "What's the time difference between here and the US?"

"About 5 hours I believe, at least between here and New York, which is where Remus said the Pack was located." I looked at my watch, "It's 3 AM, so we'll wait till tomorrow. They're probably still awake, but it would be better to do this while Remus was able to talk too."

Sirius nodded and we said goodnight, before going to bed.

* * *

 

When I checked the time the next morning, I saw that I had slept until about 10 o'clock. I guess I was tired from the run last night because I usually never slept this late. An old habit from living with the Dursleys I guess.

When I got down, both Remus and Sirius were already in the kitchen. Remus usually stayed over with the full moon, before leaving around noon, but since we were going to call the pack today, he would probably stay longer. After breakfast, the three of us discussed what we were going to tell the pack, and what questions they were likely to ask.

"Do you have one of these phones?" Sirius asked.

Damn, I hadn't even thought of that. "No, but it's probably smart to get one. Just to be able to call them, if we ever need to."

So that's what we did. We went around London until about 2 PM, looking for a phone. It didn't need to be the latest model, but it would be nice to get a relatively new one. When we finally bought one, it took us about half an hour to figure out how it worked. I may know what they are, but I never owned a cell phone, let alone used one.

Once we were comfortably sitting in the living room, Remus dialed one of the numbers.

"Hello" I could hear a man answer thanks to my improved hearing.

"Jeremy? It's Remus, you sent me this number." He sounded a little hesitating, so I gave him an encouraging smile.

"Remus, it's good to hear from you. I have to say, it's a bit unusual to use an owl to send mail, but I guess it got the job done. Smart animal."

"Yeah, I didn't really think about it, I use it all the time, so I'm used to it."

"You said you had a problem we might be able to help you with. Am I correct in assuming this has to do with another werewolf?"

"Uh, yeah you are. My friend's goddaughter changed last week. He didn't know what he was dealing with, but he knew about me so he called me over."

"And you recognized it. Did you say goddaughter by the way?"

"Yeah, I was a little surprised myself."

"Any idea who bit her?"

"She wasn't."

It was silent for a moment before Jeremy answered, "What do you mean, she wasn't bitten? Women don't inherit the gene. At least I've never heard of it happening."

"We don't know how it happened, but she hasn't been bitten. That's pretty obvious. From what you told me, so that has to mean she did, in fact, inherit it."

Silence again. "Could you put her on for me, I'd like to talk to her."

Remus handed me the phone.

"Hello, you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, I was wondering if you could answer a couple of questions for me."

I accepted, so he began asking me questions, most of which I was able to answer, things like my name, my age, where I lived, things like that.

"Do you know who your father is?"

That one stung, but I gave him the best answer I could, "We thought it was James Potter, but I guess we were wrong."

I thought I heard his breath hitch, but I wasn't sure. Before I could ask about it, he'd moved on to another question.

When we were done, he asked me to hand the phone back to Remus, which I did.

"Yes, are you willing to help her?"

"We will yes, I'd like you to come over as soon as possible. There's a problem we may be able to use your help with here."

"Can you give me some details?"

"A member of the pack has been kidnapped. We're trying to get her back, but we could use all the help we can get."

After this, they talked about when and where we would meet, before saying goodbye, and hanging up.

"Well, they're willing to help us at least. How do you think we'll be able to help them? We can't use magic in front of muggles, even if they are a little supernatural." Sirius looked at me weird, I wondered why before I realized he hadn't been able to hear the conversation. "I have better ears now, remember?"

He nodded, before asking what Jeremy had told us. I told him what the conversation had been about, also filling in Remus on our conversation

After this, Remus went home. We had agreed to meet with the pack somewhere in Maine Tomorrow. We could have been there a lot faster, but they didn't know could use magic. It also gave Remus the ability to explain the situation, at least partially to Tonks.

Tonks knew something had happened to me, and that I needed Remus help with it. She didn't know what the problem was, but she knew she could trust us.

* * *

 

We traveled to America by portkey. I didn't like using them, but they were a lot easier and safer to use than apparating, especially over long distances like intercontinental travel. When we arrived, we still had about five hours left before we were supposed to meet with Jeremy, so I decided to go for a walk. I told Sirius and Remus what I was going to do, and left my bags with them, before going into the forest.

Since my first Change, I'd grown to like nature a lot more. I'd always felt attracted to it, but now I really felt at home, surrounded by the trees and the wildlife. I loved the smell of the dead leaves, the chirping of the birds. It all brought a sense of calm over me.

I'd walked for about a mile when I heard a branch snap behind me. Immediately I turned around to see what caused the sound, some instinct that was left by the war. I didn't see anything, but I knew that something was behind me. Which made me grab my wand. I kept it hidden for now though. I turned around and started walking again, using my improved hearing and smell to try and figure out what was behind me, sadly the whatever had caused the sound was downwind.

I'd walked about 500 ft. before I heard something, footsteps behind me. This made me tense, but I acted like I hadn't heard anything. Someone was following me. I could hear at least two different pair of feet. I turned around very suddenly, and could see two men standing there, they looked like they were from the muggle military, but I doubted they were.

When I turned around, they lifted the guns they were carrying, aiming them at me. They shouted something, but I couldn't hear what they said. Suddenly, someone stepped out of the bushes next to me. I had been so busy with the people behind me, I hadn't even noticed there was someone in front of me. I turned around, raising my wand in the process, but before I could use it, the man stabbed me with a needle. I could feel the sedative running through my veins, pulling me into unconsciousness. Then everything went black.

* * *

**Sirius P.O.V.**

After three hours, Harriet still hadn't come back. I don't get worried easily, but right now, we were in a foreign country, and we knew another werewolf had been taken from the pack recently. What if they had gotten Harri as well? I knew she could hold her own, but it's not like I didn't have reason to worry about Harriet stumbling into things. She didn't need to go looking for trouble, it always ended up finding her without too much effort.

I was just about to go find her myself, when two people, which I assumed were from the pack, showed up in the clearing we had chosen to wait, I looked at my watch again, but they really were early. I always thought it was better to arrive early if you don't know what you're dealing with, and they seemed to share that mentality. Remus and Jeremy had agreed to meet in this forest, to reduce the chance that we were disturbed in our conversation.

When the men came closer, I could make out more details. The oldest one had black hair, and eyes. They were both quite tall and well built, though the younger one definitely had a more muscular physique. He was blond and had blue eyes, which were currently scanning the surroundings, obviously looking for dangers. When he didn't seem to find any, he nodded to the older one, which began to speak.

"It's good to see you again Remus." He had a deep voice, which seemed to demand obedience. From Remus description, I guessed this was Jeremy, and the man who was with him fitted the description he gave of Clayton, even though it had been almost twenty years ago since Remus saw them. this probably had something to do with the slower aging that Remus had told me about.

"It's good to see you to Jeremy, and am I right in assuming that's Clayton with you? He's certainly grown a lot." Remus said, confirming my suspicions.

"Yeah, he has. Though I can't say I'm complaining about it. It certainly helps his reputation as our personal psychopath."

I laughed at that, very impressed Jeremy could say such a sentence with a straight face.

Both Jeremy and Clayton looked at me now, "Who's your friend?"

"Sorry, I forgot you haven't met him yet. Jeremy, Clayton, This is Sirius Black, one of my oldest friends Sirius these are Jeremy and Clay, they helped me out a lot while I was here."

"Nice to meet you." I think Jeremy smiled at me, I'm not sure, but I think I saw the corners of his mouth lift a little. Clay just let out a grunt, guess Remus was right when he told me Clayton wasn't a very social man.

Jeremy looked around the clearing before asking another question, "What about Harriet, she was supposed to be here too, right?"

This time I answered him, "She went for a walk a couple of hours ago, I was just about to go looking for her when you showed up." I saw a flash of worry shoot through his eyes. "You don't think anything happened to her do you?"

"How long ago did she leave?"

"About three and a half hours ago, give or take."

"Then it might be a good idea if we helped you with your search. There are people out here, hunting us, right now."

"What do you mean 'hunting you'?"

"Apparently, a group of humans has been trying to capture supernaturals for the last couple of months. That's the problem we needed help with. Last week one of our own was taken by them, we've been trying to find them ever since."

We started walking to some of Harriet's stuff, they would need a sample so they could track her using her scent. "Do you have any other people that are helping you? You say supernaturals, that sounds like more than just werewolves."

Jeremy seemed to hesitate before answering, while Clayton sniffed one of Harri's spare shirts "We ran into some women who alerted us to this threat. They told us they were witches and requested our presence at an interracial council. There we learned that there were also shamans, vampires, half-demons and sorcerers."

This was news to me, "I've heard about witches, shamans, and vampires, but what are half-demons?"

"They have a human mother and a demon father, they inherit some of their father's abilities, though they have a wide range in power levels."

We kept walking in silence after that. Apparently, there was an interracial council, consisting of witches, vampires, shamans, sorcerers, and half-demons. The pack was invited to one of these meetings, and sometime after that, one of their members was captured. "Do you know how they are able to find you? It seems unlikely that they just wait around, hoping to run into some random supernatural."

"They have a sorcerer working for them, apparently he's able to find us."

I nodded and we went back to walking in silence. After about twenty minutes, Clayton called us over.

"There were other people here, following her"

I started to get really worried then, "How do you know?"

"Different scents, human. About as old as hers."

We walked on for about two more minutes before he said something again, "They ambushed her here. Another scent coming from that bush," he pointed at a bush about ten feet away. "Either she wasn't using her nose, or she was too focused on the people behind her."

"Shit!" I'd seen something lying on the ground, about 3 feet from where Harri was ambushed. Her wand was lying there, discarded between some leaves. I could see Remus pale when he saw what I had in my hand.

I distantly heard Clayton talking, "What's that?"

"It's from her. She'd never leave that behind."

* * *

**Harriet P.O.V.**

When I woke up, everything was too bright, making me shut my eyes immediately after I opened them. I slowly opened them again to see a grayish wall. I couldn't move, which nearly made me panic, I remember walking in the forest, hearing the branch snap. Then I saw the military-looking people, before being ambushed and drugged. I tried to move again, to no avail. I inspected the room I was in. there were gray-brownish walls on two sides, the other walls were a glass wall with a bathroom behind it, because who needs privacy, and there was one big mirror on the other side. I think I read about that once in a muggle book, a mirror that you could look through from one side. At least that what I thought it was. I could see some shelves with a couple of books above my bed. The floor was covered by a carpet. After taking in my surroundings, another habit ingrained by the war, I tried to move again. I found that I could move my head around, but not much underneath my neck.

Slowly, I could feel the drugs wearing off. Once I was finally able to sit up, I took another look around. I could now see inside the bathroom, which consisted of a toilet, a shower, and a sink.

I could move my legs now, yay! I walked around the room a little bit, still trying to get the last bits of sedative out of my system. I guessed I was in some kind of cell, probably in the same place as that other werewolf that was taken, the one Jeremy had talked about. Then I spotted a big gaping hole in one of my walls. I walked over to it and looked through. The hole could have been a mirror, it just missed my reflection. It did confirm my suspicions that there was more than one prisoner here though. Sadly, this cell seemed to be empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said at the beginning of the chapter, I had hoped to upload this on Tuesday, sadly it wasn’t meant to be.  
> *There really was a full moon August 7th, 1998. I just used it in the story after I found out.  
> I took away Harri’s wand because with that she would have been way too OP, she’d be able to just apparate out of the compound as soon as she woke up. She will not, however, be without magic, I will explain this further in the next chapter, but Harry is a pretty powerful wizard in canon. Not the god some fanfictions make him out to be, but he was able to conjure a Patronus in his third year, something that is above N.E.W.T. level.  
> Next chapter, Harri learns about the compound and meets Elena  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	5. The Compound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be about Harri and the compound. I'll probably focus on her for a while, spending less time on Sirius, Remus, Jeremy, and Clayton. That isn't to say they won't be featured at all, but you'll be seeing a lot more of Harriet than them for a while.
> 
> If you notice any inconsistencies, I've corrected some things of older chapters, and sometimes I've had to correct those corrections again because it was right originally. If you do notice any inconsistencies that are still there after those corrections, please let me know, I'll try to work them out of the story.

* * *

**Harriet P.O.V.**

After checking out the other cell, I took stock of what I had available to me. The first thing I noticed, was that my wand holster was still on my wrist, proving that the muggles couldn't take it off, which was one of the features that Sirius explained to me. Either that or they just hadn't noticed it, but that seemed unlikely to me. Then again, they did leave a hole in one of the walls of my cell, which seems like a security risk if you ask me. Sadly, I dropped my wand when I was drugged, so I couldn't really use the fact that I still had the holster. I didn't need my wand all the time for using magic, but I wasn't exactly an expert at wandless magic either. Still, it was better than nothing, though apparating out without a wand wasn't an option. The risk of splinching myself was far too great to even try, at least not as long as I had another choice. I could, however, use some minor spells, and maybe even some more difficult ones.

I also noticed, was that my cell was really quite empty, aside from the bookshelf and the bed, there really wasn't that much in the way of furniture, just a bedside table, a small desk and a chair behind it. I guess it could be worse, but I didn't really have a lot of things to entertain myself either. They could have given me a deck of cards or something, at least that way I could do something besides reading. It's not that I hate reading, but I can't really grab a book and lie on my bed to relax in a cell.

As I was pondering this, I heard a voice come from the little intercom I hadn't noticed before. "My name is Lawrence Matasumi, I would like to speak with you now. Please step into the bathroom, lower the seat, straddle the toilet facing the tank, place your hands outstretched behind you, and do not turn your head until instructed."* Odd request, but I wasn't going to question it. I didn't know anything about these people, and I didn't want to go against them until I knew more.

Once I was on the toilet, I heard the door open. Someone was walking towards me and put handcuffs on. I remained seated until Matasumi spoke again, giving me permission to turn around and walk into the main room. The man I assumed to be Matasumi, was accompanied by two guards, which were both armed. He was short and had a round face. The guards both looked like they were from the military, but I didn't think that they still were, probably muggle mercenaries. Once I sat on my chair, the guard bound my feet too.

"I have a few questions for you, miss?"

So they didn't know my name. They might have caught me and brought me here, but at least they didn't seem to know anything about me, and since I didn't mind that at all, I wasn't going to tell them anything. I wondered how much they did know, did they know I was a werewolf, or maybe even that I was a witch? They did capture me barely an hour after we arrived in the U.S.

When he decided I wasn't going to answer, he began with his questions, "We saw you and your companions, while you arrived here. Can you tell me how the three of you appeared out of thin air, we know you're not a half-demon, the range was too great for that**. There are, however, no other races that are known to be able to teleport. There's also the fact that if you were a half-demon, you would probably have been out of your cell already."

I smiled at that, so they didn't even know what I was, that's good. I was definitely going to keep it that way.

"I see. Well then, these gentlemen will escort us to the infirmary."

I wondered why we needed to go to the infirmary, as far as I knew, there was nothing wrong with me. Well except for the fact that I was imprisoned, but a trip to the infirmary probably wouldn't help with that. I briefly wondered why Matasumi would suddenly go so easy on security, until I remembered the two armed guards that would follow us, probably never taking their guns off me.

* * *

When we arrived in the infirmary, there were already quite a few people there. I saw three women, one of which was unconscious, and two guards stationed by what seemed to be some small sleeping quarters. Since the guards all looked the same to me, I focused on the women. The one I assumed to be the doctor, was looking over some data on one of the screens in the infirmary. The other conscious woman seemed to be reading something. When we came in, she looked at us briefly, before going back to her book, she seemed to be intimidated by either me or my company because she didn't look up again. The woman on the bed was restrained in what seemed to be bandages. I didn't know what was wrong with her, but as soon as I smelled her, something inside me growled. It recognized her scent as a werewolf, even if I hadn't ever seen a werewolf like me before. I also smelled another scent, from what seemed to be another wolf. I wondered about this for a little bit, before filing it away for later.

While I was examining the people in the room, Matasumi asked the doctor where a Ms. Michaels was. She told him she was in the gym with 'Winsloe', from the way she said his name, I got a feeling she didn't like this person.

After I was sat down, the doctor, who only introduced herself as doctor Carmichael, ran a couple of tests, and asked me some questions, most of which I didn't answer. For a moment, the guards that were guarding the sleeping quarters didn't seem to like my silence, but Carmichael told them to back off, which they did. We were just about ready to leave when the door to the infirmary opened, and a woman with silver blonde hair came in. She seemed to stop for a moment, her eyes widening slightly before she recovered and went on like nothing happened. Luckily, no one was looking at her, because when I inhaled, I knew this was the other werewolf. She looked over at me, and I shook my head, barely visible, hoping to make it clear they didn't know what I was. She looked at me for a little longer, before going into her room and lying in her bed.

When the questioning was over, I was brought back to my cell, before Matasumi and the guards left again. I lay in my own bed, thinking about what I learned today. I was in some kind of prison, there were other people like me in this place, there were two werewolves here too, one of which had to be the one Jeremy had told us about. I didn't know which one but I assumed it was the one that recognized me as a werewolf. She seemed to be on my side, and she had at least some experience if they brought her in to help the other werewolf, the unconscious one, to recover from whatever was wrong with her.

* * *

**Elena P.O.V.**

I was lying in my cell, thinking about the strange woman that was in the infirmary when I came back from the gym. She was a werewolf, I knew that, but how? As far as I knew I was the only female werewolf until Bauer injected herself. I still couldn't believe she'd done that. Who'd be stupid enough to inject themselves with werewolf saliva?

My thoughts drifted back to the woman. She'd smelled vaguely familiar, but I didn't think I'd ever seen her before today. From the way she shook her head at me, and the questions they asked her, I made up that the people running the compound didn't know what she was, but why did they take her then? She must have done something that let them know she wasn't human, but what could she have done, without making it clear she was a werewolf. There was also this other thing that was weird about her scent, I didn't know what it was, but I knew she was something other than a werewolf.

After thinking about this for nearly two hours, I finally fell asleep

* * *

**Harriet P.O.V.**

When I had breakfast, I learned something had happened last night. An incident in one of the cells. Apparently, a witch had been killed by a flying clock. They didn't know what happened exactly, but they suspected the younger witch that was in the cell with her. I nearly lost it when I heard that, they had a 12-year-old witch locked up in here. She was just a kid, young enough to still have accidental magic apparently. Before I could react, the guards were out of my room.

I thought about the kid for a moment. Had she even started school yet? I didn't know how it worked in America, and accidental magic stops when kids start their first year most of the time. That's when I had another thought. What if she wasn't a witch in the way I thought of. Like I wasn't a werewolf like the ones from the Wizarding World. It would explain how they had witches, but didn't know about apparating. This didn't help me calm down, but it did reassure me that they probably still didn't know what I was.

At lunch, Matasumi returned, asking me the same questions. I still didn't answer them, which he didn't seem to like. In the background, I could hear someone writing outside my cell. They were probably taking notes, hoping I would be more cooperative if I didn't know they were doing it. Instead of giving up after the 'What are you?' question, he interrogated me further, asking who Sirius and Remus were, how old I was, why we had gone to America (He probably noticed my accent in the infirmary yesterday) things like that.

"You could stop wasting your time on me, I think I made it pretty clear I'm not going to answer your questions." He looked a little annoyed by my attitude, "What? You think you can kidnap me, throw me into a cell, and that will make me cooperate? If you really think that you're seriously deluded."

"I see, perhaps we should use some more unpleasant methods then." When he said this, a guard left the cell, presumably to go get the torture kit. I thought that's what he was talking about at least. When the guard came back, he gave Matasumi a box. When he opened it, I could see there were syringes in it. "I really would prefer it if it didn't need to come to this, so I'll give you one last chance before I use this. Let's start with our first question again. What is your name?"

I thought about this for a while. My name wouldn't really help them a lot, they could try and find me, but I don't think they'll have much success, Harriet Potter isn't exactly an uncommon name, so I decided to answer this question. "Harriet." He seemed pleased with himself, he probably thought I was going to answer more questions now, but that depended entirely on what questions he asked. I endured Voldemort's cruciatus curse, so I would probably be able to handle anything they threw at me.

"Very good, and your last name?"

"Potter."

"Alright, thank you miss Potter. Now on to our second question, how did you appear out of thin air with your companions?"

This time I remained silent. I couldn't let them know about magic. It would be too much of an advantage for me to give up so easily.

"Very well then," Matasumi said after some time, "I see we have to resort to more drastic measures." He grabbed one of the syringes and stuck it into my arm.

As soon as he injected me, I could feel my arm started burning, though it soon spread to the rest of my body. I didn't scream once, I'm sure they knew it hurt, but I wouldn't let them win.

After an hour, he gave up, and he left me there. The drug wore off sometime later. When it was over, I fell asleep almost as soon as the chemicals were out of my system, exhausted from the pain I just went through.

* * *

After I woke up the next morning, I took out one of the books on the shelf. I didn't really see what was on the pages though. Instead, I tried to think up a plan for escaping.

I could do most first- and second year spells without using a wand. I was also able to summon and banish things wandlessly. Apart from that, there were a couple more advanced spells I could use. Things like the confundus charm, disillusionment or muffliato. Those last two would probably come in handy. I could try to apparate out of my cell, but I would only do that as a last resort. The risks were simply too great.

While I thought about this, I heard a cell door open. I looked at the door, but I didn't see anyone there. Then I heard someone walking in the other cell. I stood up and walked over to the hole between our cells. When I looked through it, I saw the other werewolf lying on her bed. I wondered why she was back in her cell. I hadn't seen her outside of my visit to the infirmary, so I'd assumed she was supposed to be staying there. So why was she in here now? I decided to ask her.

"Hello," I started, but she shot up in her bed and turned to look at me. "So why have you been thrown back in here?"

* * *

**Elena P.O.V.**

I immediately sat up when I heard someone talking to me. I looked to the source of the sound, and saw the other werewolf, the one that smelled strange, I noticed she was British now too. Getting thrown out might have been some good fortune after all. When Bauer accused me of turning her into a werewolf, I'd been furious. I had been helping her for the past week, saving her life on multiple occasions and she accuses me of jamming that needle into her arm. How the hell was I supposed to do that? I was bound to a chair when they found us. Of course, Matasumi was ready to believe her. He hadn't liked me being in the infirmary to begin with.

So I was sent back to my cell, my plans to get on Bauer's good side thrown out of the window. I must have been so preoccupied with the idiocy of everyone here, that I hadn't even smelled her in the other room.

"I was trying to help the big mad werewolf up there, but once she woke up, she blamed me for turning her into a werewolf in the first place." I decided to tell her the truth. I may not be able to work with Bauer to escape, but she might actually be able to help me a lot more. Right now, Bauer was a half-mad werewolf suffering from deliria, and with no control over her changes. This woman, or maybe girl would be more accurate, she couldn't be more than 20, but I doubted she was even that old. She might be able to help me a lot more. She seemed to be in control, especially if she is able to hide what she is from the people in the compound.

I decided to ask her whether they knew that yet, though I doubted it. She seemed like she was strong-willed, and you could see from her eyes that she had been through much in her life already. I didn't want to risk exposing her though. I doubted they'd let us keep in contact with each other through the convenient hole I made in the wall. If they hadn't let me talk to Ruth, they definitely wouldn't let me come into contact with another werewolf. There was also the matter of Winsloe, who probably wouldn't mind having another werewolf to hunt.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I almost missed her reply, "I knew someone like that once. Hated my guts, tried to discredit me for saying stuff her boss didn't want to come out. She kept walking around in a horrible pink cardigan like it would convince people that she wasn't pure evil. I think that's the only teacher I've ever had that even the other staff members hated." I laughed at that. "You laugh, but you've never met her. She even took over the entire school, tried to incriminate the headmaster. Eventually, a friend and I led her into the forest close the school, got her lost in there. Once she finally got out, she was sacked immediately." I laughed again.

"What kind of school hires people like that?"

"Oh, they didn't want to hire her. There were no applicant's, the last couple of teachers didn't have a good time. Eventually, the Ministry had to step in and they appointed her."

"How incompetent are they." I didn't mind I was thrown out of the infirmary anymore, I probably already had a better chance of escaping with this girl than I had with Sondra, just because she was in control, and she didn't hate me.

"Very." She seemed to think for a moment before saying that I didn't quite catch. "Could you go sit with your back to the glass?" It was a strange request, but I did it anyway. "Thanks, now we can talk freely."

"What do you mean? They can hear what we're saying."

"Not anymore, I'll explain later."

"Any chance you can explain it now?" If this was for real, escaping became a lot easier.

"Magic. I used a spell that makes it so that they can't listen in on the conversation. They can still see us though, so that's why you had to sit with your back to them. makes it less obvious that we're talking."

"Does that mean you're a witch and a werewolf?" I'd never heard of something like this, but then again, I didn't know about the other races until a little over a week ago. It also explained the strange scent she had.

"Yes," She hesitated before going further, I'm assuming you're the werewolf Jeremy was talking about when we contacted him?"

I was a little surprised that she had contacted Jeremy, with someone else apparently, "Who's we?"

"Me, my godfather, and his best friend."

I thought about this for a little while, before asking another question, "I'm guessing you contacted him because you were newly bitten."

She shook her head, "I wasn't, we didn't know what happened, I'm just glad Remus recognized it for what it was."

"What do you mean you weren't bitten? Women can't inherit the werewolf gene?" There had never been a woman that was born a werewolf. At least none that the pack knew about.

"We don't know, but since I'd remember if I was bitten by a big wolf, the only explanation is that I did somehow inherit it. We currently think the magic may have mutated the gene somehow."

She then told me all about what had happened to her since her eighteenth birthday. Afterward, I asked her about her magic, there had to be some way to use for our escape.

"I don't have my wand with me. I dropped it when they drugged me. I do have some spells I can do without a wand, but there's only a couple of them that are actually useful."

"What do you mean, your wand? I've seen some magic in the last two weeks, but I haven't seen anyone wave a stick around."

"I thought there were different witches here. When I overheard them talking about that incident yesterday I was wondering why they hadn't figured out what I was if they had other witches here. Figured there had to be other witches too."

"Too? What else has another version that you know about."

"Well, you've got werewolves at least."

"Really, and how are they different-" I turned around to see a guard standing there, carrying a vase with flowers. He put them on my desk and left the room. I walked over to the desk and scanned the card that was with it

"Secret admirer?" The girl, which I now knew was called Harriet, asked.

I nearly screamed in fury, "Winsloe, says he's sorry that I got thrown out."

"Who is he?" She asked.

"How do you not know who Tyrone Winsloe is. He runs a company that's famous all over the world."

"We don't really keep up with the muggle news, that's what we call non-magic users."

"It's not the most flattering term, is it?" She chuckled. We talked some more about the so-called Wizarding World, before some more guards came into my cell, telling me I was needed upstairs. The look on his face told me I wasn't going to like what I saw there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, we're probably not going to see Remus and Sirius for at least one more chapter.
> 
> *I know this is straight from Stolen, but I imagine Matasumi as a man that lives with a schedule, and someone that probably says this to every captive in the compound. Just because of the way he had Elena escorted, and the way he let the door close in the prologue, only to open it himself, just because the doors are meant to let one guard with captive trough and not two guards, I also Imagine him a bit like Hugo Strange from the Arkham Games, just a more spineless version.
> 
> **I get my information about the otherworld from either the books or the wiki, wiki/Half_Demons in this case.
> 
> I want to explain why I made Harri go through the torture because I have a couple of reasons for it. As stated in the story, Harri has endured Voldemort's Cruciatus curse, something he was very proficient at, so she knew she could take it. In the books, it's also shown that Harry is quite a stubborn person, particularly in his sixth year, when he suspects Draco Malfoy of being a Death Eater. Combine this with the fact that it works in Harri's favor if the people in the compound know little about her, and I think you've got a pretty good reason for why she doesn't tell them anything.
> 
> I also want to talk about Harri's magical abilities, because I plan on making her quite a powerful witch. To do that, I'll look at canon Harry, and give you examples of why I think I'm justified on making her magically powerful. You don't have to worry about a godlike Harri though, I don't want to make her invincible.
> 
> First off, Harry has encountered Voldemort 10 times, when he was 15 months old, when he was in the Forbidden Forest for detention, when he was stopping Quirrell, when he saves Ginny and slays the basilisk, in the Graveyard, in the Ministry of Magic, during the Battle of the Seven Potters, in Bathilda Bagshot's house, in the Forbidden Forest when he sacrifices himself, and the final time, in the Great Hall, for their final duel. Keep in mind, that Riddle was able to hold his own against Minerva McGonagall, Horace Slughorn, and Kingsley Shacklebolt at the same time. He even held his own against Dumbledore who wielded the Elder Wand. While Harry didn't really do much during the attack on Godric's Hollow, or both the times in the Forbidden Forest, that still leaves the 7 other times that he faced and sometimes even defeated Voldemort.
> 
> Harry is good at spells, getting an Exceeds Expectations in every O.W.L. he had to use his wand except for Defence against the Dark Arts, for which he got an Outstanding. This is further shown when you think about the fact that Harry was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus when he was thirteen years old, keep in mind that a Patronus is above N.E.W.T. levels, which makes it an exceptional achievement that he was able to do this. He was also able to wandlessly cast Lumos during the dementor attack on Little Whinging before he started his fifth year. He was also the leader and teacher of Dumbledore's Army, even though there were older students in the group. McGonagall has also complimented Harry with his Transfiguration skills. He also turned out to be good enough at potions, that Slughorn didn't suspect anything after he stopped using the Half-Blood Prince's book. He apparated throughout Britain while hunting the Horcruxes, and when he apparated Dumbledore and himself back to Hogsmeade. Apparating is something even more experienced wizards sometimes choose not to do, because of the safety risks when done incorrectly. He also shows he has a very strong will when he is the only one in his class that is able to throw of Barty Crouch Jr.'s Imperius curse.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought. If you have any tips on writing first person dialogue I'd really appreciate them, because I get the feeling I could be doing them better.


	6. I Sort of Meet the Biggest Monster Here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, but I had trouble writing this chapter. It just wouldn't come out how I wanted it too, but I'm pretty happy with it now. There are some parts that are nearly directly from Stolen in this chapter, so I'll say it again for this chapter: I don't own any of the characters, plot points, dialogues, or areas that you recognize from either Women of the Otherworld or Harry Potter. They belong to Kelley Armstrong and J.K. Rowling respectively.
> 
> This chapter is a little more Harri-centric. You get to see her ideas about what she told Elena and Elena in general.

 

* * *

**Harriet P.O.V.**

When Elena was brought upstairs again, I was once more on my own. It may seem selfish, but I really did hope that they didn't move her up there permanently. Our best chance for escaping was by helping each other. What could have happened upstairs, that they needed her back up there though? She made it pretty clear that she was out of favor with the people running the compound. Apparently, everyone in power had either lost their mind, or they were just trying to blame her for what happened to Bauer.

She'd told me what had happened with her. One night, Sondra Bauer, the person that originally ran this place, came into Elena's cell accompanied by two guards. After Elena was tied to a chair, she had sent the guards out of the room, before pulling a syringe from her pocket and ranting that Elena was treated differently because she was the only female werewolf. Turns out Bauer had daddy issues, which caused her to go thrill-seeking, something about old money and a company run by a bunch of sexist idiots. This gave her the brilliant idea to turn herself into a werewolf. If female werewolves were treated differently, why wouldn't she want to be one right? Long story short, Bauer wanted Elena to bite her because she had enough common sense to know that you shouldn't jam a syringe filled with werewolf saliva into yourself. She didn't have enough common sense to not actually do it when Elena refused though.

Now she blamed Elena for turning her into a monster, and apparently, Matasumi was more than ready to believe her. He didn't like having her in the infirmary in the first place. She was too much of a security risk up there for his liking. Luckily for Bauer, he was also quite spineless, so Dr. Carmichael was able to convince him that she needed Elena. Which she definitely had.

I had taken a gamble, telling her about magic, but it had absolutely paid off. She trusted me, just like I trusted her. She also needed to know before we broke out, otherwise, she'd be thinking about what I was doing while we were trying to escape, and we needed her to be able to concentrate fully if we were going to pull this off. We hadn't been able to plan much yet before the guards had come to retrieve her, but I was certain we could do this. As long as we worked together.

I hadn't heard anyone walking through the hallway since Elena had been taken away, so whatever was happening up there, it was serious. The walls were soundproofed, but werewolves had that superior hearing that other people don't, so I could always hear when someone walked by, or if people were writing things down, probably taking notes of their observations.

From what Elena had been able to tell me, I had a basic understanding of the hierarchy in the compound. At the bottom, you had the guards, cooks, and probably janitors of some kind. The people that were here for the money. Then you had Carmichael, who was a little above them, but since Bauer had woken up. She probably didn't have much input anymore. Matasumi was above her again. That left four people that couldn't be placed in a definitive order, Tyrone Winsloe, the man that had sent her flowers this afternoon; Sondra, but it was unclear where she would end up after her little incident; Tucker, the head of security; and Katzen, a sorcerer that was helping them find the supernaturals.

From her description of Winsloe, I got the idea that he was a self-absorbed prick, who thought this was one big game. He organized 'hunts' where he would literally hunt down captives. She had been on one of these hunts with him. Apparently, he had taken her outside after making her dress in something that left nothing to the imagination, before showing her his toys, which he used to hunt down an old captive, Patrick Lake. He was a mutt that had a run-in with the pack a couple of years ago. Elena and her then ex-boyfriend Clay had visited him in Texas. Lake had apparently killed the daughter of a city official. Normally the pack doesn't do much if a mutt kills someone, but with things that risk exposure .like this, they step in. There are simply too many mutts that kill humans to keep up with them all. After Clay broke his arm in multiple places, Lake got made his way out of the state very quickly.

It turned out that Winsloe thought that this was one big video game. One where you could hunt the monsters without thinking about their lives. He was obviously crazy, but he was also extremely dangerous because of it. He shot a guard when the man killed Lake against his orders. Even if Lake had jumped at the guard. You never knew when he would get bored and think he would like to hunt another werewolf because apparently, all the other races didn't get him off enough.

I was thinking about all this when I heard Elena's cell open.

"Hey, you're back. What was the problem they needed you for?" When she didn't answer, I took a good look through the hole in our wall, "Oh shit! Are you okay?" Her leg was torn open, and it looked like something had happened to her foot, which was missing a shoe. A man entered her cell. He had brown hair, but the only distinguishing feature was a scar that went from his temple to his nose.

"They needed her to fix their mess. Again." Since that didn't really answer my question he added, "Bauer had her first Change," he looked over at Elena, "That's what they're called right? Of course, they didn't listen to her when she told them that they had to keep her restrained. She tore Carmichael apart before anyone noticed what was happening in the infirmary."

He put some glasses on her desk and filled them with a drink I couldn't identify, it was probably some form of alcohol though. "Sorry, I only brought two glasses. Didn't know she had a cellmate."

I didn't mind, I was only eighteen by a week and a half. Besides, alcohol never really called to me. "What did they need you to do, fight her? What would you be able to do to her while she is Changed and you're not? I doubt they'd let you change before you went in."

"They wanted me to sedate Bauer," Elena said from where she was standing next to her desk "They really do have a nice system going here, don't they? You help them, then you get sent back down to your cell, hoping Winsloe doesn't get bored."

"And your leg?" It looked pretty bad, especially her knee.

"According to Matasumi, the muscles in my knee may or may not have been torn."

"In other words, he doesn't know." I shook my head at how incompetent everyone here seemed to be. "How did Bauer even get free in the first place? Wouldn't they have kept a newly turned werewolf restrained, or at least have a couple of guards with her at all times?"

The man that was with Elena shook his head, "There weren't any guards with them when she changed. As to how she got out of her restraints, no one knows, but either she broke out, or Carmichael took them away. I'm Xavier by the way, heard you were the mystery teleporter Matasumi can't figure out."

I smiled at him, "Harri, and yeah that's me."

"Are you gonna tell me how you did it? I promise I won't tattle, we'll just keep it between the three of us." I shook my head, but he tried again, "Come on. It's just one teleporter to another, well there's also the werewolf, but she doesn't like them either."

"Sorry, but a magician never reveals her tricks. Do you have any tips on how to break out? You seem too nice to actually want to help these people."

Before he could answer, the door to Elena's cell opened again. Between two guards stood a man that seemed to be in his early thirties. He had dark red hair, which was tied up in a ponytail. I could appreciate this hairstyle on Bill Weasley, but this man was too old for it. It looked like he was trying to hide the fact that he was losing hair. He was overweight, and he looked like he wouldn't be able to walk up two flights of stairs without getting out of breath. He probably had some handsome features before, but now they were hidden behind his plump face. The man, which I assumed was Tyrone Winsloe, the self-absorbed ass that Elena had described as a maniac and probable psychopath, was standing in the doorway, looking at Xavier and Elena.

"See what I have to resort to? Jack Daniel's. Barely drinkable. You get me hooked on the good stuff, then keep hiding it on me. Sadistic bastard." I'd disillusioned myself so he wouldn't be able to see me, but I could still see them. The satisfaction on his face when he said that to Winsloe was obvious. Apparently, Elena wasn't the only one to dislike him. Then Xavier started talking again.

"You owe me a bottle of cognac anyway. I like the Remy Martin XO, not the VSOP. You can have someone drop it off at my room later."

Winsloe arched his eyebrows. "And how do you figure that?"

"I saved your girl. Twice now, actually." He took a moment to look at the guards besides Winsloe. "But we won't get into that first time, will we guys? I'm no tattletale. Besides wasn't a big deal. But upstairs there? Whew. Another minute and she'd have been a goner."

"You think?"

"Oh, yeah." He slapped Elena on the back. "No offense, Elena but you were in way over your head."

"Thanks," she almost sounded like she really meant it.

"So you owe me, Ty. Drop off that bottle anytime."

Winsloe laughed. "You've got balls, Reese." I had to agree with him there. If half of what Elena told me about him was true, Winsloe wasn't someone you wanted as an enemy. Not in here at least.

"Fair enough then. I owe you. You'll get your cognac. Stop by my room in about an hour and pick it up. Maybe I can rustle up a few glasses of the Louis XIII for us, make that XO taste like bad moonshine."

"Sounds like a plan."

From the tension between the two men it was clear they were both bullshitting each other, they could pretend like neither of them knew with their easygoing attitude, but it was clear that Xavier was no longer appreciated, and if what he told me about Bauer was true, that meant he should skip town while he still could. Fortunately, Xavier seemed like a smart man. It was obvious he had no intention to go to Winsloe's room for that cognac.

Eventually, Xavier stood up, said a final goodbye to Elena, looked to me seemingly surprised that he didn't see me sitting there, and teleported away.

When he was gone, Winsloe's attention went back to Elena. I got uncomfortable from the way he was looking at her, and he wasn't even looking at me. It was clear what kind of man he was. Eventually, he opened his mouth.

"That's the same clothing you arrived in. They've given you other stuff to wear, haven't they? What about that shirt I brought you?"

From what Elena told me about 'that shirt' I wouldn't be caught dead wearing it, and while Elena didn't seem like she cared too much about her appearance to me, she did have some standards. She couldn't tell this to Winsloe though, he probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Luckily, she seemed to realize this too, because she actually managed to sound like she was sorry when she answered. "It's a werewolf thing. Laundry soaps, fabric softeners, the smell is too strong."

He seemed to accept this, "You should have said so. I'll tell the staff to get unscented detergent. Don't bother with the clothes Sondra supplied. I'll order new things for you."

She was going to be happy with that. Absolutely.

Winsloe sat down on her bed, back to the bookshelf at the end of it. He seemed nearly happy which seemed strange if you think about the fact that he saw one of his colleagues being ripped apart less than an hour ago.

"Can you believe what Sondra did to the doc?" His eyes were actually glinting like it really was all a game to him, and he wasn't talking about a person being brutally murdered.

"It… happens."

"You ever do stuff like that?" I have to say he showed some nerve just asking that. He wouldn't have liked the way I answered him, even if the answer was no.

"I'm a Pack werewolf," Elena answered him. Acting Like it wasn't an incredibly rude question.

He hesitated before answering, "But you could do it. Obviously. You're much stronger and much younger." When she didn't answer he jumped up from the bed. "You did a helluva job evading Sondra. Better than the doc, that's for sure."

He actually laughed at that, which turned my blood to ice. This man had no regard for human life, and he was one of the richest people on the planet.

"Too bad Xavier interfered. I'd hoped you'd fight Sondra."

"Sorry." I was impressed she was able to say this. I'd have lost my cool way before this. Then again it's probably a good thing she didn't. There were still two trigger happy guards in the room with her.

"You should have fought her. I would have liked it if you'd fought her." When she didn't answer he repeated himself. "I would have liked that, Elena."

That's when she snapped, "Why didn't you say so?" She seemed to realize her mistake because she immediately added, "I guess I got the impression you guys wanted Bauer alive. I should have asked."

When they didn't answer her, she tried something else. "I'm sorry, Ty. I'm so tired."

"You didn't look tired when I walked in. Standing around, chatting it up with Xavier. You two seem pretty tight."

"I was just thanking him. He did me a big favor, jumping in—"

Winsloe snapped his fingers, "Favor. That reminds me, there's something I need to ask you about. Hold on and I'll be right back."

Before she could answer, he was already out of her cell.

"I get the impression Xavier isn't the only one out of favor in this place. I think we should make our move a little earlier than we expected," I said.

"I think you might be right. Neat trick, by the way, that'll come in handy."

When Winsloe came back, Elena was already half asleep. He came in waving around an envelope. "Devil of a time finding these buggers. Larry had already filed them in his to-do box. Way too efficient."

Elena sat up straighter and looked somewhat interested, which was quite an achievement when she just woke up and was clearly exhausted. Sadly she did let out a yawn.

"Am I boring you, Elena."

Something in his voice set my teeth on edge, making the grin that accompanied the words look malicious.

"No, no. Of course not. What do you have there?"

"Surveillance photos of a werewolf I'd like you to identify." He answered.

"Sure, if I can, but my memory for faces is pretty bad."

"That's okay. This one doesn't have a face. Not a human face I mean. He's a wolf. If you ask me, all wolves look the same, which is why Larry didn't bother asking you for an ID. But then I thought, maybe that kind of thinking is too race-centered. You know, like those witnesses who get on the stand and finger the wrong black guy because all black men look the same to them?

"Uh-huh."

You could see she was fighting to stay awake at this point, making it almost cruel from Winsloe to keep dragging this out. Then again, that was probably the point, judging from what I knew about him. He didn't make any effort to get to his question though.

"So, I thought, maybe all wolf faces don't look the same to a wolf. Or to a part-time wolf." He made a chortling sound, making me dread what he was about to ask her.

"I'll do my best," Elena answered. "But if I've seen this mutt before, I've probably only seen him as a human. A scent would be better."

"Scent." He snapped his fingers. "Now why didn't I think of that. See? Race-centered again. I think I'm sharp if I can identify the smell of pepperoni pizza."

Elena tried to snatch the envelope, probably fed up with his bullshit, but he jumped back onto the bed and tossed it beside him. Acting like he hadn't seen her grabbing for it. I had only known this man for an hour, and I could already tell that he was something special. This petty and childish act around her. The way he went around like people should kiss his feet. His utter lack of empathy, and the way he looked at Elena. It was uncomfortable to even be in the same room as him. if only because you knew that whatever he was going to do, was meant to hurt you in some way. Possibly to make himself feel powerful, maybe just out of spite.

"Could I see-?" Elena started to say, but he cut her off.

"A team spotted this guy late last night. No, I guess that'd be early this morning. The wee hours anyway."

Elena nodded in answer.

"Very bizarre circumstances. Ever since we snatched you and the old witch, we've had a team trying to find the rest of your group. We could always use another werewolf, and Larry's pretty keen on getting that fire-demon guy. We lost track of them after we grabbed you two. That's not exactly a secret, though I'd rather you didn't tell Larry I told you so. He's not too pleased about the whole thing, but I'm sure it makes you feel better, knowing your friends got away."

He paused there. Seemingly waiting for something. The narcissistic ass.

"Thanks, for telling me."

"You're welcome. So, we've had this team scouting the area, picking up tips, most of them useless. Yesterday Tucker recalled that group and sent a fresh one to replace them. keeping up morale and all that. The first team was heading back and spent the night in some backwater motel. Next morning, they get up for a pre-dawn start, go outside and what do you think they see there? On the edge of the woods?"

"A—uh. A—umm, a wolf?"

"Glad to see you're paying attention, Elena. Yes, it was a wolf. A big fucker of a wolf. Standing right there, watching them. now either this is the biggest coincidence in the universe or this werewolf had been following them. Searching for the search party."

That seemed to wake her up. "Where was this?"

"Does it matter?"

"All werewolves are territorial. Technically mutts can't hold territory, but most stick to a familiar piece of ground, like a state, just moving from city to city. If I knew where this took place, it would help me figure out who it might have been."

"And help you figure out where you are. None of that, Elena. Now let me tell my story. So, the guards see this wolf and they figure out that it's a werewolf. One grabs a camera and snaps some photos. The other two go for the tranquilizer guns. Before they can unpack them, though, the wolf vanishes. So they gear up and head into the woods. And do you know what? He's right there, like he's waiting. They get close, he runs, then stops and waits. Luring them in. can you believe that?"

"Werewolves retain human intelligence. It's not that strange." Something in her voice told me she thought it was, but she didn't add anything else.

"Wait, it gets weirder. You know what this wolf does next? He separates them. takes a commando team, including a former Navy Seal, and figures out how to separate them. Then he starts picking them off. Killing them! Can you believe that?" He shook his head while laughing. "Man, I wish I'd been there. One werewolf turning those military goons into blithering idiots, wandering around the woods, getting picked off like blonds in a horror flick. The wolf kills two and goes after the third. And what do you think he does?"

"Kills him?" She said, sounding almost desperate, like she didn't believe it herself.

"No! that's the topper. He doesn't kill him. He runs him ragged. Like he's trying to exhaust him, like he wants to keep him alive but too weak to fight. Okay, maybe I'm reading too much into this, attributing human motivations to an animal. Anthro—what do they call that?"

"Anthropomorphism." She whispered, sounding like she had trouble breathing. She had obviously realized something. Probably the thing that Winsloe was working towards.

"Right. Anthropomorphism. Hey, That's what your boyfriend studies, right? Anthropomorphic religions. Boring as hell if you ask me, but people say that about computers, too. Each to his own. Now where was I?"

I understood why Elena looked so scared now. It wasn't an accident that the conversation went to her boyfriend.

"The wolf. Running down the last survivor."

"You don't look so good. Maybe you should come over here and lie down. Plenty of room. No? Suit yourself. So the wolf is running circles around the last guy. Only something goes wrong. Somehow the canny fucker screwed up. Miscalculated a turn or a distance maybe. He got too close. The guard fired. Pow! Dead wolf."

"Let—let me see the photos." She nearly demanded.

He tossed the envelope at her and she scrambled after it. After she ripped it open, I could hear a whimper coming from her, confirming my suspicions.

"You know him?"

She crouched down, holding the photos in her hands.

"No? Well, you're tired. Keep them. Get some rest and give it some thought. Xavier's probably waiting for me upstairs. I'll come back in the morning."

He left, but I don't think she even noticed it. She just sat there staring at the photos, another whimper escaping her, but just like the last one, it was nearly inaudible. I think she even stopped breathing at one point.

Suddenly, her body spasmed, toppling her over, and letting go of the photos. Then she started screaming. I knew she was going through the Change, Remus had told me that fear, anger, or another strong emotion could trigger it. Her limbs started flailing around, getting into the right positions.

I looked away when I saw fur sprout on her arms and legs. I may be new to all this, but I knew that Changing wasn't pretty, and I respected Elena enough not to watch her while she was going through it. No matter how much I trusted Remus and Sirius, I didn't want them to see me while I was changing either. I wasn't vain, but this was something personal, something that no one should watch if they could help it.

Eventually, it was over, and I could hear her heavy breathing and panting, signaling that I could look again. She must have smelled or heard something in the hallway, because I could smell the anger start radiating off her, before being overwhelmed by her grief. I realized that Winsloe was probably still watching her, which meant that I couldn't talk to her. Not that it would have helped much, fortunately, I didn't have any experiences with the kind of loss Elena just suffered. I had lost people, of course, Fred, and Dumbledore were both heavy losses, which caused me a lot of grief, and I'd liked Cedric, even if I didn't know him very well. But what she was going through right now was something else.

While I was thinking this, Elena had moved from her place on the floor to me, wedged between her bed and the wall. Hidden in the only corner Winsloe wouldn't be able to see her. I tried to comfort her for a little while, but eventually, my own need for sleep caught up with me and I went to bed.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that a big part of this chapter was almost directly copied from the book, but that's because Harri was disillusioned. Winsloe didn't even know he was there. I had thought of having him visit her personally, but I thought that would bring too many similarities between Elena and Harriet. That and the fact that I'm not that good at channeling my inner asshole, so I probably wouldn't do him justice (not that he deserves any praise, but Armstrong made him an enormously despicable character, that somewhat reminds me of Umbitch, in the way that he abuses his power and thinks the rules don't apply to him. I'm not good at being mean, so I don't want to ruin that effect by making him nicer than he is. Which is way too easy to do).
> 
> Again, sorry that it took me longer than usual, but it was a combination of a hard chapter for me to write, wanting to watch Avengers Endgame and studying that made it difficult to finish the chapter and be happy with it.
> 
> I already addressed this in the chapter, but the reason Harri told Elena about magic immediately, was that she needed someone she could trust, and Elena already knew she was a werewolf anyway. She is also the most useful ally, both because she is the only one Harri can contact, and because they're both werewolves, which means they can both do the same things, and one person won't get left behind because they can't get past a certain obstacle, combine that with Harri's magic and you've got a team I wouldn't wanna go up against.
> 
> Please leave a review, that lets me know what you want and what you think about the story so far.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? Do you have any questons or suggestions? Please feel free to say so. Like I said this is my first story so any feedback is welcome.
> 
> Like I said at the beginning, I have no idea how often I'll be able to update this story, especially because I have my exams coming up, but I'll try to keep updating regularly, because I really enjoyed writing this.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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